Lidasan: Role of academe in peace building

THE United Nations General Assembly has declared September 21 as the International Day of Peace. On this day, activities and programs are focused on strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.

In the Philippines, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and its nationwide partner peace advocates in the public and private sectors led the celebration of the National Peace Consciousness Month for the whole of September.

According to OPAPP, the theme for this year, “Mithiing Kapayapaan: Sama-samang Isakatuparan” calls for a unified action towards the shared aspiration for a just, comprehensive, and enduring peace regardless of ideology, religion, and culture.

On September 21, 2018, I was fortunate enough to be one of the peace advocates in our country to participate in the 25th anniversary of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. The activity was held at the PICC, and more than a hundred government and non-government peace advocates joined OPAPP in their anniversary.

After the event, I realized that the academe has a big role in terms of the implementation of peace and reconciliation programs. Peace building is a complex task that requires the work and cooperation of diverse committed social sectors ready to support the communities’ vision-and-mission to institutionalize peace programs.

This starts from the work of diverse actors, such the academe and the intellectual sector defining peace building frameworks suitable to the needs and realities of the target communities.

Aside from peace education and research work, what role does the academe have in the Bangsamoro peace process?

On the part of Ateneo de Davao University, the Al Qalam Institute and the University Community Engagement and Advocacy Council (UCEAC) have assumed an active and visible role in peacebuilding and reconciliation processes in the Bangsamoro.

Our in-depth analysis of the political and social situation, which at the same time is determined by the dynamics of conflict, helped us design our programs and activities. We then lead and implement these efforts and actions for building peace that goes beyond the academe.

We have learned through our work that in building peace for Mindanao and the Bangsamoro, it requires the action of the different state, non- state, national, local and international actors. They must be ready to cooperate, not just on the search for solutions to the armed conflict, but also on the design and implementation of a peace inclusive agenda. This includes specific short-term and long-term strategy for giving sustainability to the process, in order to avoid a cycle of violence.

Moreover, our experience taught us that peacebuilding and reconciliation processes may become effective depending on the role that local actors can take on them. Hence, we raised the questions about the role that the private sector, local businessman and civil actors should lead in peacebuilding.

We recognized that the Ateneo cannot do this alone. The Bangsamoro needs support in terms of wider programs for national social transformation in line with nation-building. This may include, but is not limited to, diverse activities such as peace and human rights education or training to ex-combatants, internally displaced people and other kinds of victims and actors of the conflict.

The situation in Mindanao and Bangsamoro cannot be fully described as post-conflict peace implementation, because there are other conflicts that arise due to rido and rise of new violent extremist groups. Thus, we recognize the complex task that requires the involvement of different committed social sectors at work to establish structures that will make possible the institutionalization of peace and reconciliation in Mindanao. (mslidasan@addu.edu.ph)

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